Monday, November 9, 2015

The humanitarian Princess

DUBAI
--- Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, Wife of Vice President and Prime Minister of
the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, has received the prestigious 2015 Giglio d’Oro Award at a
ceremony held in Florence, Italy. The Award was presented to her for her
outstanding contributions in the humanitarian field.

The
Giglio d’Oro is awarded annually by the Italy-based Galileo 2000 Foundation to
individuals who make significant contributions to peace, music and art.

In
her acceptance speech, Princess Haya paid tribute to His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed, "The recipient should have been my husband, His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed - without his loving support and generosity, I would not have been
able to do nearly so much.

I
am deeply honored by this recognition of my humanitarian work I do on behalf of
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and the United Nations. I will treasure this
Award, not as a reminder of all that has been done, but as a reminder of all
there is still to do."

Princess
Haya has been widely recognized for her contributions to global humanitarian
causes. In her role as a UN Messenger of Peace, she is dedicated to helping
raise global awareness of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including
the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. The chairwoman of the
International Humanitarian City in Dubai, she is a former World Food Programme
(WFP) Ambassador against Hunger.

Dubai
and the UAE, she said, are at the forefront of the global humanitarian effort.
"Few people know this, but the UAE has moved into the number one position
among the world's donors, giving 1.2 percent of GNI every year to foreign aid
in more than 100 countries - nearly $5 billion from a country of only 8 million
people," she said in her speech.

Princess
Haya further said that H.H. Sheikh Mohammed’s recent humanitarian initiatives
exemplify a creative and innovative approach to aid. She told the audience
about His Highness Sheikh Mohammed’s recently established Mohammed Bin Rashid
Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, which will launch the largest and most
comprehensive development programme in the Arab region.

Speaking
about the global humanitarian effort, she said though impressive progress has
been made in the fight against poverty, hunger and disease, more needs to be
done. "The question is not, what have we done well, but how can we do more
as we race the hourglass of poverty, of hunger, of disease," she said.

Recognizing
the contributions of aid workers around the world, she said: "My personal
list of heroes includes the aid workers in Medecins Sans Frontiers, the World
Food Programme, the UN peacekeepers, the Red Cross and Red Crescent, to name a
few. They often struggle against great odds with little reward and each and
every one of them is deserving of our recognition, respect and support."

During
her visit to Florence, Princess Haya also delivered an address at the Global
Mayor’s Summit held on Thursday under the theme ‘Unity in Diversity’. Stressing
that the notion of ‘Unity in Diversity’ is critical for cities to progress,
Princess Haya shared with the audience the story of how Dubai’s rulers made
their vision of connecting people in an environment that embraces ‘Unity in
Diversity’ a reality.

"Dubai’s
vision of connecting people dates back to the early 1800’s and although recent
years have seen its transformation from a fishing village into one of the most
dynamic metropolises in the world, some things have not changed in two
centuries of the Maktoum family’s rule," she said.

In
the UAE, Emiratis work alongside an incredible mix of expatriates from almost
200 nationalities. Religious, racial and ethnic tolerance enrich the city and
allow it to attract talent from all over the world, working in harmony, she
told the Summit.

"The
Maktoum family realized early on that the future depended greatly on the people
who passed through and stayed in Dubai; people who needed to feel that they
were free to flourish and prosper without risk," Princess Haya said.

"We
have the world represented in Dubai, and in many ways, I believe, Dubai is also
a microcosm of the modern world," she added.